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  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    kiama
    Posts
    99

    Default dont laugh, but i actually did surprise myself

    I saw on a webpage somewhere, a picture of a homemade surface gauge, and thought hey, im gonna make one. so i did. now, after looking at these pics, you will probably think i am the worst machinist everbut the only tools i used are;
    -portable drill
    -files
    -9 inch angle grinder
    -bench grinder
    -taps and dies
    -hacksaw
    -measuring tools
    no lathe, no mill, no bandsaw, not even a measly drill press
    so after several hours i came up with this
    Attachment 133262
    Attachment 133263

    note: the clamping system is being redesigned as all round parts are not concentric and ugly, i will post pics up when finished

    please dont laugh lol
    Last edited by jmk89; 27th Mar 2010 at 01:36 PM. Reason: turn pictures into attachments

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    near Rockhampton
    Posts
    6,216

    Default

    That is pretty good for the tools at hand...I made similar looking items when I had identical tools..

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Athelstone, SA 5076
    Posts
    4,255

    Default

    looks as rough as guts but like all things made from scratch you have start somewhere...how was the first lathe built and what did it look like?

    seen an old wood lathe that one had to use his leg to peddle so that the spindle would turn...all one man operated

    ps...some of the stuff i have made look rougher

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Ipswich QLD
    Age
    68
    Posts
    1,996

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    kiama
    Posts
    99

    Default

    as soon as i'd posted i took it down the shed to polish it, and i have started work on a new clamping system, but will have to waqit till school to make some parts

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Mackay North Qld
    Posts
    6,446

    Default

    I find that I am more likely to use my home made tools in preference to the store bought stuff.

    There is to be some measure of satisfaction gained by seeing a need for a tool and making it up from what you have at hand.

    Even more so when it works well and cost almost nix.

    Ya done good mate!

    Thats why every project we have at school is designed to appeal to most kids who have a bit of a mechanical thing about them.

    Currently our project list for metals engineering Cert 1 is a
    Tool box cabable of fitting in their lockers.

    Scriber,Marking gauge - like a mortise gauge,Soft faced hammer,Welded BBQ plate,and a 100mm vise.

    What does your school make as projects ?

    Grahame

  7. #7
    Dave J Guest

    Default

    No laughing here,
    Looks like your living up your name, (The Fabricator).
    It looks good and completely functional to me, and the best thing is, it shows you have a real interest in metal working and you have a good imagination of what the finished product should look like.
    Don't go knocking yourself about it, for one the hole in the base looks square, which is pretty hard for a lot of people to do with a hand drill.
    You say you are making another clamp, a lot of people would just say, that will do it, but to your credit you can see were it could be better and your going to modify it suit.
    I am a visual type of bloke and I find I do the same thing with most of my projects, if it doesn't look quite right it gets modified or scrapped and I make it a different shape or design.
    Keep us updated with the mods to the clamp and your future projects,thats what the forum is here for, to share our ideas and learn. It wont be long before you will be helping us out with our questions and problems.
    Dave

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Katherine ,Northern Territory
    Age
    69
    Posts
    736

    Default

    Most of my marking out tools are self made , my scriber is a piece of 3/16 or 1/4 "copper tube with a broken tap silver soldered in one end and a ball bearing on the other ,I've been using it for over 30 years, all of my center punches are turned from silver steel and hardened ,I've got a marking gauge made from scrap and a broken 1/16 drill bit .Scrapers made from files and pieces of bearing races The most used tools are the ones I made .

    The most important thing is that it does the job and you are happy with it , functionality rather than looks.

    Kev
    "Outside of a dog a book is man's best friend ,inside a dog it's too dark to read"
    Groucho Marx

  9. #9
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    kiama
    Posts
    99

    Default

    thanks guys, good to know theres no laughing (yet)

    Grahame, the projects our school has varies with year and age of students( of course)
    from my personal experience, it goes like this

    year 7- non elective subject - barbeque fork and cake lifter ( hand tools )
    year 8 - small spade - handtools, watching the cnc lathe cut the handles of wood and sanding our handles on the big lathe ( my mate one day changed the belt pulleys and i was to scared to even touch it)
    year 9- torque wrench, really high quality stuff these are ( i chose woodwork over metal for 9 and 10, silly me) lots of machining skills
    year 10 - own project, from what i hear theres been workbenches, drill presses, wood lathes, and the drop outs make a hammer and mess about the rest of the year
    year 11 - toolbox, small sheet metal box. 150mm bench vise, reading plans, using the mig, lathe, vertical mill, shaper, brobo. although, i spent my time wisely as the stubborn dropouts took the whole year to finish their vise, i made a screwdriver, g clamp, toolchest, section rolling machine, centre punches, scribers and i still havent used the horizontal mill
    year 12 - skills, ie welding two bits of plate, cracking them in the press then grinding off the excess and repeat process. this goes for mig, stick and oxy

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Glenhaven, NSW
    Age
    81
    Posts
    205

    Default

    G'day Fabricator,
    I think you had better go to your User CP and change your Novice rating to something a little more appropriate to your obvious skills.
    Cheers
    Graeme

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    Notting Hiĺl (Melb) or Echuca
    Age
    64
    Posts
    179

    Default

    I like your gauge.

    Dad told me recently about his "probationary period (months)" during his first year as a fitter and turner -

    Raw material: piece of mild steel round bar

    Specified result: ultimately a 2" cube to 1 thou accuracy in all dimensions and flatness (in stages of increasing accuracy)

    Tools: Bench/vice, Cold chisel/hammer, File, Scraper and appropriate measuring gear supplied as increasing accuracy required

    If you succeeded you got an apprenticeship.

    It is a reminder to me that amazing things are possible with patience and skill.
    I'm still mangling things but it is a comfort that we are always learning as long as we keep trying.

    All the best
    cheers
    David

    ------------------------------------------------
    A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they’ll never sit in. (Greek proverb)

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